Posted By Troy E. Renck On March 31, 2008 @ 12:03 pm In Rockies on Deck | No Comments

At this point, you half expect a disclaimer to run on the TV ticker during every Rockies’ meaningful game: sorry for the interruption, we will return to regularly-scheduled program shortly.
After waiting eight days to play the World Series, the Rockies are facing a rain delay here in St. Louis for the season opener. Batting practice was officially scratched for Colorado at 12:45 p.m. local time. The tarp went onto the field. The pouring rain eventually let up and the tarp was pulled off an hour later.
Because this is St. Louis, the dreary conditions have failed as a buzzkill.
“This is baseball’s birthday,’’ manager Clint Hurdle said. “There will be a lot of emotions.’’
To say nothing of tradition. Walking to the press box, I passed Lou Brock and Bob Gibson. As part of opening day ceremonies, the Cardinals parade through legends around the field in convertibles, possibly with the roof up today.
The local press covers this event as a holiday. And there were several fans who camped out last night in the street across from the stadium. They began arriving yesterday afternoon. Hurdle said he could hear their cries of joy from his hotel above the street when the lucky ones received tickets.
Because of the soggy conditions, the Rockies took batting practice in the indoor cages. It’s not ideal, but Colorado worked out at Busch Stadium on Sunday to get a better feel of the surroundings. A look at the lineups:

Other observations:
–Typical of their style last season, the Rockies appeared more relaxed than apprehensive. They spent the bulk of pregame watching the Tigers and Royals on TV. This is a confident group that expects to win. No more hoping or wondering.
–The coverage of the Rockies, as noted by Hurdle, is not dramatically different. The offseason attention was different back in Denver, with players constantly getting recognized and thanked. Hurdle joked that ESPN needed Mapquest to find the Rockies’ spring training site for the game the network televised from Tucson. ESPN is not broadcasting a single Rockies’ home game, though they are on against the Mets from New York.
–Ublado Jimenez, Franklin Morales and Mark Redman all made their final starts in Tucson, reaching nearly 80 pitches. Redman will start the home opener on Friday, an assignment he doesn’t take lightly. “It was an honor to be even considered. I have started them for teams in the past so I have a pretty good idea of how to handle the adrenalin and emotion that day brings,’’ Redman said.